


So We're Not Alone

by ssswampert



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-28
Updated: 2016-05-17
Packaged: 2018-05-23 20:06:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6128596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ssswampert/pseuds/ssswampert
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A mission lands Jaune and Pyrrha posing as an engaged couple looking for the right place to get married and the right huntsman to officiate it. Can they pull it off? Or will their real feelings throw the charade out the window?</p><p>(Nobody Died AU)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was previously titled "Searching For The Right Officiator" but after months I realized it didn't fit. So I changed it.
> 
> \--
> 
> TADAAAAAA. Undercover Arkos.
> 
> I specified this was a nobody-died AU because Yang has robot arm.  
> Also, Trans Jaune, as always. enjoy.

“You signed up for the Infiltration and Extradition mission, correct?” Ozpin asked, setting down his mug and folding his hands together. He surveyed Team JNPR over his glasses as Jaune nodded and fidgeted with his fingers. “You picked it from the board and your entire team agreed with you that this mission would be the one you went on.”

“I thought it’d be different and, uh, interesting,” he said, quailing under Ozpin’s gaze. “And we’re not really the, uh, best at Grimm-clearing missions.”

  
Goodwitch shifted the binder in her arms, careful not to let any loose pages flutter out, then snapped open her Scroll and pulled up files to peer at. “You’ve done perfectly well on every other mission you’ve been on,” she contradicted, and slid her Scroll shut again.

“We just didn’t wanna fight as many Grimm this time,” Nora cut in. Ozpin turned his thoughtful gaze to her. “I mean,” she stammered, scuffing her toe on the ground.

“A fair reason,” Ozpin replied, picking up his mug and sipping from it again. “Are you sure you want _this_ mission and perhaps not a simpler infiltration _or_ extradition mission?”

Jaune nodded.

“You’re ready to take on this mission despite what the details might hold for you?” Ozpin pressed. Jaune nodded, and this time Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren nodded as well. “All right,” he said. “Professor Goodwitch? The binder, if you will.”

Goodwitch set the binder on the table in front of team JNPR and slid it across. On instinct, Pyrrha caught it to keep it from falling off the table, and peeled open the front cover. She stifled a gasp, and Nora leaned over to see why. “Uh... Professor?” Nora scratched at her temple. “Is this the right binder?”

“Quite,” Ozpin replied, refilling his mug from the carafe set off to one side of the table.

“It’s full of…” Ren leaned over as well, reached past Nora, and flipped page after page. “Wedding details.”

  
“Yes.” The headmaster grinned from behind the rim of his mug. “Would you like to know why?”

“Yes please,” Jaune squeaked. His ears were turning red. 

“Well,” Ozpin paused to sip. “The contents of that binder has quite a lot to do with your mission. Two of you will be posing as a couple engaged to be married. Your professional Huntsman will be posing as your chosen bride-to-be’s father, and we have chosen another student to make this more believable and less… clearly a team of huntsmen and huntresses on a mission.”

Pyrrha raised her hand, and Ozpin turned his gaze to her. “Pardon my asking, but _why_? Why is this the most logical way to go about the mission?” she asked.

He smiled. “Excellent question, Ms. Nikos. We received word from someone in Latet that a huntsman has gone on what we could call a power trip. He holed himself up in the town hall years ago according to our source and has implemented taxes and passed laws that our source said were _inhumane_ in what we believe to be an attempt to control any dust or other resources found in the mountain. Any new team of hunters, including student teams, could arouse enough suspicion to draw more Grimm than usual to the area.”

The elevator slid open, and Professor Port stepped into Ozpin’s office, guiding in Yang with a hand on her shoulder. “Professor Port, Ms Xiao Long, how nice of you to join us.”

“He’s our professional, isn’t he?” Jaune asked. And then, “Wait, why is Yang here?”

“Nice to see you too, Noodle Boy.” Yang stuck her tongue out, and then straightened and turned her attention to Ozpin. “I’m not in trouble, am I?”

“Not at all,” Ozpin replied. “You’re being recruited to go on this mission with Team JNPR, since the rest of your team is already on another mission with Professor Váskas. They need one more body to pose less suspicion.”

“Oh,” Yang replied. “What am I gonna be doing?”

“You will be playing the part of Mr Arc’s sister, hopefully.” Ozpin motioned to said blond.

“Okay.” Yang shrugged. “I already act like it enough anyways, there won’t be much of a change.”

Ozpin smiled, pleased. “Good!” he said. “That’s what I was counting on.” Nora and Pyrrha flipped through the binder, while Jaune propped his head in one hand and drummed on the table with the other. Ren leaned his head against Nora’s shoulder.

“So,” Ozpin said, once Yang and Professor Port had been properly filled in by Goodwitch. “Who is the lucky couple?”

Ren and Nora made eye contact, and then touched their noses. “Nose goes not us!” Nora chirped.

Ozpin’s smile returned, wider. “Fair enough,” he agreed. “Mr. Arc, Ms. Nikos, do you agree to this decision?” Yang muffled a snicker. Jaune’s chin slipped out of his hand and he nearly banged his chin on the table. He straightened up like he’d been shocked.

“Um,” he stammered. “Yeah, I--I guess, I mean, if Pyrrha’s okay with it.” Pyrrha merely nodded, face turning redder and redder as the seconds ticked by.

“Excellent,” Ozpin said. “Congratulations, you two. The five of you and Professor Port will come up with a backstory on the way out to Latet, so get to thinking.”

“You mean you’re not doing that for us too?” Jaune blurted.

Ozpin raised an eyebrow. “Professor Goodwitch and I already put together that binder your teammates are looking at. We came up with the cover story, you fill in the blanks. You know each other best, after all.”

“Oh. Yessir,” Jaune replied, cowed.

Pyrrha shifted in her seat and laid a hand over Jaune’s. “I think we’ll do well at that, _dear_ ,” she said, giggling to herself when the tips of Jaune’s ears went red. He cast his eyes around the room and found Yang biting onto a bright yellow metal fist to hold back laughter.

Jaune choked and sputtered and yanked his hand away from Pyrrha’s when Professor Port sighed out a fond, “Young love…” and Yang let out a guffaw around her hand, then hastily tried to quiet herself when it drew more eyes.

 

\---

 

As the elevator closed on the team and its extras moments later, Glynda sighed and turned to Ozpin. “This cover story of yours isn’t some scheme to get those two together, is it?” she asked, eyes narrowing.

“Oh, dear me, no,” Ozpin replied, slurping loudly out of his mug. “I don’t particularly care to meddle in the love affairs of teenagers.”

“They’re all twenty years old, Ozpin,” Glynda pointed out coldly. “Not teenagers.”

“Well,” Ozpin replied blithely. “Would you look at that.” He set his mug down with a clink of ceramic against thick glass.

 

\---

“My touching your hand wasn’t unwelcome, was it?” Pyrrha asked softly, trailing behind Jaune as they headed back to their dorm room to prepare.

“No! N-no, just unexpected in, uh, the situation presented,” Jaune replied. Pyrrha nodded and pulled forward a lock of her ponytail to twist her fingers into. “Warn a guy next time?” he tacked on weakly.

“Of course! I’m sorry!” Pyrrha squeaked, letting go of her hair. Jaune waved her off and pulled out his scroll to unlock their door.

“Hope you two are ready to get co- _zy_ ,” Yang teased, unlocking her own door. Jaune swallowed hard.

“Sh-shouldn’t be too hard,” he replied, voice breaking in the middle. “We’re only friends though, right Pyrrha?”

Pyrrha pushed open the door. “Yeah, Jaune. Friends,” she said, heading in.

“Oooh…” Yang winced.

“What?” Jaune furrowed his eyebrows. Yang shook her head and headed into her room, shutting the door more softly than usual. “Pyrrha?” he called, walking into the room and shouldering the door closed.

“Yes?” Pyrrha straightened up at her bedside, bag in hand. She looked fine, and she sounded fine, so.

“It’s nothing, never mind.” Jaune shook his head and dug out his own bag, unaware of the look Ren and Nora shared as they packed their own things.

“Are you sure it was nothing?” Pyrrha asked a few moments later, hands gripping a pajama shirt of hers and poised above her bag.

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Jaune jammed a shirt into his bag to cover the fistful of underclothes he’d just dropped in. Pyrrha hummed thoughtfully and neatly placed the shirt in next to the loose shorts she wore with it.

“Nora!” Ren said, suddenly and louder than the murmured conversation the two had been having moments ago. “Leave room in your bag for toiletries.” Jaune and Pyrrha looked over to see Nora’s bag overflowing with blankets and stuffed animals.

“But Ren!” Nora protested, sagging a bit. “You always carry my toiletries, and I can’t sleep without any of this stuff!”

“You’ve done fine without them on missions before,” he replied, tugging a blanket out of her bag and shaking it out. Three stuffed animals bounced onto her bed. “We’re going somewhere with places we can stay. We won’t be out in the wilderness.”

Nora let out a long, long sigh. “I _guess_ some of them can stay here and keep watch over the room.” Ren smiled gently.

“They’ll do their best. Who do you want to stay: Raviolis, Egg Breakfast, or Noodle?” He held up a knitted owl, and then a cow dressed as a rabbit, and then a velvet lion.

Nora’s face scrunched up in thought. “Um…” she said. “Noodle.” She pointed at the lion, and Ren set it against his pillow. “And… Raviolis.” Ren set the knitted owl next to the lion.

The two of them went through the rest of her stuffed animals in a similar fashion, splitting them evenly between all four beds.

“They can watch over my blanket,” Pyrrha said, unfolding the maroon blanket she’d set at the end of her bed and tucking it around the stuffed animals on her pillow. Nora packed the remaining three stuffed animals (Egg Breakfast, Pancake, and Bacon) into her bag and folded a blanket in around them.

Jaune’s eyes stayed on Pyrrha’s blanket. “You’re not taking it?” he asked, finally dragging his eyes away and up to her face.

Pyrrha shook her head. “I don’t see why I should,” she replied carefully. “It’s almost as old as I am, and I can’t bear the thought of losing it by leaving it in Latet by accident.”

“That makes sense.” Jaune shrugged. Pyrrha smiled ruefully. “I’d hate to lose my favorite anything.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Backstory plotting. Jaune worries. Yang talks some sense into him.

Yang was waiting for them when they left the dorm, and together the five of them walked to the airship dock.

“You guys started thinking of a backstory yet?” she asked, clutching at the strap of her bag. “I was thinkin’ maybe I could pass for Jaune’s older and more attractive sister.”

“Older? No way!” Jaune protested. “We’re obviously twins.”

“C’mon,” Yang replied. “You’ve got a _serious_ case of the ultra babyface.” She elbowed him in the ribs.

Jaune pouted and rubbed at his jaw. “It’s not my fault I haven’t grown any facial hair yet,” he grumbled.

As they approached the airship, the loading bay door slid open and Port waved them in. “Have you given any thought to your backstory?” he asked, ignoring Yang’s grumble of _I just asked that_.

“Me ‘n Yang are gonna be si--” Jaune’s voice cracked, and he broke himself off with a slightly horrified look to clear his throat. “Siblings.”

“Excellent!” Port praised. “Anything else?”

“Jaune says twins, but I say I’m older,” Yang offered, dropping her bag next to one of the seats and flopping herself onto the seat instead of stowing it overhead like the others were doing.

Jaune settled into a seat a few rows away, and Pyrrha perched next to him and touched his arm. “I almost said me and Yang were sisters,” he whined, expression still somewhat horrified. Pyrrha hummed sympathetically and rubbed his arm.

“Twins is best, I believe,” Port said, sitting down in front of them and swiveling his seat around to face them. “What about you two?” He motioned to Ren and Nora.

“ _Clearly_ I’m Pyrrha’s sister!” Nora replied, rolling her eyes. “And Ren is my best friend and non-romantic partner.”

“We decided I was her romantic partner of several years,” Ren interrupted. “Why else would I be coming with her and her sister to plan for her sister’s wedding?” He raised an eyebrow at Nora, who shrugged and turned away.

“Also an excellent idea.” Port nodded. “What about me? Whose father am I?”

Pyrrha raised her hand and then looked up. “I’ll be glad to be your pretend daughter, professor.” She grinned.

Port beamed. “Call me Papa, then, Miss Nikos--or should I say, Pyrrha!”

“So do I have a mother or another father?” Pyrrha’s grin turned sharp. “We’ve all seen that ring.” Jaune looked up at her in confusion, and she gestured to where Port was now twisting a ring around a finger on his left hand.

“Eagle eyes, Miss Nikos! You have another father,” he confirmed, nodding once. “Dad couldn’t come because he couldn’t get time off teaching--that’s the story: in reality he is on a mission of his own.”

“Good to know!” Pyrrha chirped, smile softening again. “I didn’t want to misgender your partner.”  She thumped Jaune’s back next and he straightened up with a pained yelp. “How long have we been engaged, _darling_?” she asked.

“I dunno, seven months.” Jaune shrugged, then shot back, “How did we meet?”

“Easy, we got put on a team together at combat school,” Pyrrha quipped. “We’ve got to pull inspiration from actual events to make it believable, yes?” She raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, _yawn_ ,” Yang piped up, rolling her eyes to the ceiling of the airship. “That’s boring. How about you and I met first, P, and I introduced the two of you.” She slouched down in her seat and crossed her arms. “‘I really think you’d like my brother’ I said. And look at you two now, gettin’ married.” She sniffled for dramatic effect. “My precious twin brother, growing up so fast.”

“That works too.” Pyrrha shrugged. “How did you propose?”

Nora stood. “He dropped the ring!” she declared.

“Well, yeah,” Jaune agreed. “We were out to dinner for our second anniversary, and you looked so beautiful. I got nervous.”

“Oh--speaking of,” Port interrupted. “Ozpin caught me on my way here and said he forgot to give you this when he let you leave with the binder.” He tossed a small, velvet box towards Pyrrha and Jaune. Pyrrha caught the box and pried it open.

“It’s gorgeous,” she breathed.

“Not what I would have gone with,” Jaune said, pursing his lips a bit. “I would’ve gotten Mom to give me Great-Grandma’s ring.”

“Good thing you didn’t _actually_ propose then, right, loverboy?” Yang teased. Jaune snapped his eyes to Yang and glared, face reddening. “What? I’m only pointing out the obvious.”

“Think of it this way,” Pyrrha started, taking the ring out of the box and sliding it onto her finger. “At least you won’t have to worry about losing that ring, because we have this one, and you won’t have to give a family heirloom to someone you’re only friends with.” Jaune refused to meet her gaze.

“What else could we think up before we get there?” Ren interrupted the tension, and they spent the rest of the flight up the mountain discussing backstory and timeline, and laughing about made-up childhood memories.

 

\---

The airship dropped them off several hours walk to Latet as the sun was beginning to set.

“Alright, team,” Port started, settling his hands on his hips. “We’ll walk as far as we can before it gets fully dark and then continue in the morning. Sound like a plan?” Various noises of assent came from each of the five others. “Great!” He turned and started marching.

The walking was much, much quieter than the airship ride out there. Jaune expected it to be tense and was instead relieved at the comfortableness of the quiet.

The quiet that was now letting him think of the ramifications and potential endings to his being fake-engaged to his teammate, not to mention what he would have to do to keep up the charade to begin with.

Yang glanced over her shoulder once or twice, and then slowed down to match pace with Jaune. “Why so glum, little bro?” she asked, nudging him.

He let out a long breath through his nose. “I’m just… worried,” he admitted softly, eyes trained on Pyrrha’s back. “About what this will do to our friendship. Mine and Pyrrha’s, not yours and mine.” He cast a glance out of the corner of his eye at the other blonde.

“Well, you like her, right?” Yang asked, pushing her hair over her shoulder and folding her hands behind her back. At the way Jaune stiffened, she said, “As a friend, dummy. You know what I meant.”

Jaune relaxed. “I do. Aside from Ruby and Nora and Ren, she’s one of my best friends. She’s my partner.” He clenched his hands around the straps of his bag, almost defensively. “I don’t want to hurt her.”

Yang furrowed her eyebrows. “Whaddaya mean?” she asked.

“We’re already kinda affectionate with each other, and now we’re gonna have to double time it, or whatever, and make people think we’re being romantic about it,” he explained, letting go of his bag with one hand to gesture a little bit. “It might make her uncomfortable, and I don’t… like that. Y’know?” Yang let one corner of her mouth twist up.

“Hey, at least you don’t secretly hate her,” she teased, punching him gently on the shoulder.

“I could never, are you _insane_?” Jaune replied, voice high. “She was the first person at Beacon to believe in me and encourage me, okay? I respect her a lot, and… I don’t know, this is dumb.” He shook his head, and then smiled widely at Pyrrha when she looked back at the two of them.

“We’re just having some twin bonding,” Yang called cheerfully. Pyrrha nodded in understanding and turned to watch where she was going. “If this is dumb then I’m General Ironwood,” she directed at her temporary twin. “Listen, buckaroo, this is a mission. You’re gonna have to do this no matter how afraid you are of it. You’re already affectionate with Pyrrha normally, right?” Jaune nodded. “So don’t change that. Don’t ramp it up, don’t overdo it.”

Jaune nodded again. “Right…” He swallowed thickly. “What if, uh.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “What if I have to kiss her, and I don’t want to under, y’know, false pretenses?”

Yang sighed loudly, exasperated. “So kiss her before,” she suggested, voice dropping to match him. “Is this really that hard?”

“Yes!” Jaune hissed. “It is, okay!?”

“Wimp,” Yang hissed back, winked, and then sped up again to jump into the beginnings of Nora, Ren, and Pyrrha’s conversation.

When they set up camp and doled out watch shifts, Jaune was still mulling it over. He laid awake on his bedroll for longer than he thought he would, debating with himself.

When he fell asleep, he slept fitfully and was woken by Port waking Ren for his watch, and then Ren waking Nora for her watch, and then again when Nora woke up Yang.

When it was his turn, Yang squatted next to him and punched his shoulder. “Did you even sleep?” she whispered.

“Yeah,” he replied, defensive. “Some. Kinda.”

“Well, you better stay awake for your whole watch.” And when he stood and dug Crocea Mors out of his bag, she took over his bedroll. He rolled his eyes and set a timer on his Scroll, and then sat himself on the ground, facing the path they’d just barely come off.

The entire time he should have been watching over his teammates he spent trying to get the idea of kissing Pyrrha out of his head.

His Scroll chiming startled him into movement, and he jumped to his feet, swearing softly, before scrambling to pick it up and silence it. Pyrrha sat up, and in the light of his Scroll screen, he could see her rub blearily at her eyes.

“My turn?” she asked quietly.

“Yep,” Jaune responded, pacing over and patting her shoulder. “Your turn.” He copied Yang and took over Pyrrha’s bedroll when she stood and laid flat on his back, eyes to the stars.

That was the worst idea he’d had. Now that he was laying on the still-warm bedroll she’d just vacated, the thought of kissing her was back and more insistent than ever. He scrubbed his hands over his face and sat up, then stepped back over and sat down on her left. “Mind company?” he asked. “Couldn’t sleep.”

“You weren’t over there very long,” Pyrrha replied. “But your company is welcome regardless.” She leaned over and dropped her head onto his shoulder.

Her watch was spent whispering between them. Talk of their families back home, talk of what they wanted to do when the mission was over. Talk of how Beacon was different since their first year. Jaune neatly sidestepped any prodding at insecurities, and dodged Pyrrha’s single question about what he and Yang had talked about, early on in their walking. Then they fell quiet.

The sky was beginning to lighten when Jaune took a deep breath, gathered all his courage, and said, “Pyrrha? Can I--um.” He broke off as he met her eyes, and then swallowed hard and looked away. “Pyrrha, I… Can I ask you something? Before everyone else wakes up?”

“Of course,” she replied, the smile spreading across her face warming her entire expression. “Ask away.” Jaune committed that expression to memory, sure he wasn’t going to see it again after this mission was over, let alone once he’d spilled what he’d been thinking.

“We’re about to pretend to be engaged for an entire week…” he started. Pyrrha nodded and hummed in agreement. “And we’re gonna have to be more affectionate with each other than ever, and in public too.”

“Yes…?” She tilted her head. “Jaune, I’m... not sure I’m following.”

Jaune scratched at the back of his head, and then scrubbed a hand through his hair, and then sighed, long and low. “I don’t want our first kiss to be while we’re pretending to be something we’re not, so… Can I kiss you? Now? Before we start pretending?”

Pyrrha went suddenly still next to him and lifted her head off of his shoulder. “Sure!” she replied, sharper and louder than she meant. “Oh--I, I mean, okay,” she whispered, bringing her hand up to cover her mouth. “I’m sorry.”

Jaune leaned in at the same time Pyrrha leaned in. Their noses bumped. “Sorry,” Pyrrha whispered again. Jaune could feel the breath from that word brush across his lips, and the sound of someone shifting around behind them made him jerk back.

“Sorry,” he whispered. Pyrrha giggled nervously.

And then she was gently cupping his face and guiding him back before he could process, and then her lips pressed against his, feather light at first. Jaune dropped his hand to her waist and pressed his mouth harder against hers. Her lips were soft, and the small smile he could feel curling against his own was something he’d never let himself forget.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wrote this last night. woke up this morning and as i was rereading i realized "fuuuuu u u uck me that kiss is a parallel for the finale"


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arrival. Introduction of their source. Nightmares.

A loud, sighing yawn had the two springing apart, and then leaning against each other, giggling quietly.

“You know,” Pyrrha started, turning to Jaune and cupping his face again. “You mentioned you hadn’t grown any facial hair yet, and I can prove you wrong.” She brushed her thumb over his upper lip.

Jaune’s face lit up. “Really?” he asked. “Are you serious?” He batted her hand away to feel for himself, both hands on his upper lip.

“I am!” she replied lightly, smiling near as wide as he was. “Your new mustache tickled.”

“It’s just a couple hairs,” Jaune pointed out, dropping one hand to cover hers and keeping the other on his face.

“But it’s still more than none,” Pyrrha said. “You should be excited.”

“Oh, believe me, P. I am. I’m really excited.” Jaune lapsed into quiet, and was suddenly aware of the ring under his palm. “You’re…” He lifted his hand.

Pyrrha nodded. “I am. I might as well get used to it, hm?” She pulled her hand away to look at the ring. “Would you have really gotten your great grandmother’s ring from your mother?” she asked quietly.

“Yeah. I--I think, yeah. I mean. Great Granny gave it to Pop, and Granny gave it to Dad, so I could get Momma to give it to me, right?” he mused, finding himself staring at the ring too. When he looked back up to Pyrrha, he couldn’t decipher her expression. “...Is something wrong?” he ventured.

“Huh?” Pyrrha seemed to jerk herself out of thought. “Oh, no, nothing’s wrong. I was just…” She twisted the ring around her finger. “Thinking, I suppose.”

“About the mission?” Jaune guessed. Pyrrha hesitated, and then nodded. “Been doin’ a lot of that myself, honestly. What if I screw it up, y’know?”

“Was that what you and Yang talked about yesterday?” Pyrrha poked his arm. “I think you’ll do fine, anyhow.” Jaune hung his head.

“I just… don’t want to… I don’t know how to word it,” he said, and gave his head a shake. “It’s not that it’s  _ you _ , it’s. Me, I guess? I’m not… a very good liar. Well I mean, I am  _ kinda  _ if I’m still at Beacon, but that’s… different.”

Hiding a soft giggle, Pyrrha responded, “We’re both going to have to learn to lie better, and quickly.”

 

\---

 

When they reached the outskirts of Latet, there was a woman in an orange peacoat waiting for them, smoke trailing from an equally orange cigarette holder. 

“Dot Arancia,” Port called, rolling the R in her last name. “How lovely to see you again after all these years.” He approached her and clasped one of her hands in both of his. “Peter Port,” he said, quieter.

“From Vale?” she asked, raising an eyebrow over cat-eye glasses.

“Indeed we are,” Port replied, and then motioned behind him. Louder, he said, “If you’ll remember, my daughter Pyrrha.” Pyrrha waved. “Her fiance, Jaune, and his sister Yang.” Yang nodded, and Jaune took Pyrrha’s hand. “And Pyrrha’s sister Nora and her partner Ren.” Ren dropped an arm around Nora’s shoulders.

Dot slipped into her own act as easily as Port had. “Oh, of  _ course _ , how could I forget! Pyrrha, darling, you’ve grown so much, and oh, what a catch!” she cooed, squeezing Jaune’s face between her hands and turning him this way and that. “Call me Dotty,” she insisted, warmth oozing from her tone but not meeting her eyes.

“Um!” Nora stomped a foot. “Dotty! What about me!” Dot laughed and let go of Jaune’s face to approach Nora.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart, I didn’t forget about you.” She set a hand on Nora’s shoulder. “I was merely introducing myself to your sister’s fiance,” she explained, waving her cigarette holder. “He doesn’t know what to call me like you do.”

“Your acting is wonderful,” Ren commented quietly. Dot winked at him.

“Come, come,” she said. “My sister and her husband are away for the next week and I’m watching their house until they return. You don’t need to overpay at the only hotel in town.” She turned, peacoat flapping, and led them through town.

The house she approached was large, immaculate, and peach edged in white. “Wow,” said Yang. “Nice place.”

“Isn’t it?” Dot replied, pushing open the gate and starting up the path. “Coral and Lane are very picky about their home. Nothing but the best for them and their dear Quatrefoil.” As if on cue, a tiny kitten came trotting around the side of the house. “Here, kitty kitty!” Dot crouched, and the cat came running.

“So they have a cat and no kids?” Jaune asked, puzzled. “Why such a big house?”

“It’s all about flashing your Lien around here, Jaune,” Dot replied. “Their house is absurdly large for just the two of them and this cat, and yet they still live here instead of going somewhere smaller.” She sniffed and scooped up Quatrefoil.

“Oh,” Jaune said. “Okay. I guess that makes sense. I’ve got sev--six other sisters at home and our house is smaller than this, though.”

“Is your family rich?” Dot eyed him.

“Not… really, no. I mean. We’re not poor, but--”

“O-kay, that’s enough.” Yang cut him off, presumably to prevent him from blowing their cover to any hidden ears. “I think you’re tired from the trip here, Noodle.”

“Hey!” Jaune protested. “Don’t call me Noodle, I’m not a little kid anymore! I have  _ facial hair _ now!”

\---

Jaune awoke with a start and a choked-sounding gasp. His dream still flashed in front of his eyes, and the arm across his ribcage weighed him down like an anchor in a murky lake. He slid out of bed, detangling himself from Pyrrha’s arm, careful not to look at the color of her hair in the moonlight so he wouldn’t feel sick.

He padded to his bag, pulled Crocea Mors as quietly as he could from inside, and tucked it under his arm. He slipped out the bedroom door, wincing when the click of the latch seemed to echo like a gunshot in the hallway. Feet bare and not bothering with shoes or slippers, Jaune made his way outside. The unfamiliarity of the house had been confusing enough at first, but all the exploring he’d done with Nora helped him navigate the hallways easily in the dark.

One long hallway, a right turn, down a set of stairs, another right turn, and then a left and he was pushing himself through the foyer and out the door that he left open behind him in his haste to get outside.

He sat down heavily in the grass, plopped Crocea Mors next to him, and let himself sob until he felt dizzy. All he could see was varying shades of red, grey, and maroon, and the green glow of Ozpin’s tower, and he pressed the heels of his hands against his closed eyelids so he would see a kaleidoscope of different colors instead. It didn’t work.

A cool, metal hand rubbed at his back, slow and steady, and it was Yang saying, “Easy there, buddy,” in a soft, slow tone that kept him from jumping a foot into the air. “Nightmare?” she asked, hand pausing between his shoulder blades.

Jaune nodded and fidgeted with the hem of his shirt.

“Wanna talk about it?” She sat down next to him and crossed her legs.

Jaune hesitated, then shook his head. Then hesitated again. “I keep dreaming of  _ what if _ s,” he said, voice cracking. “What if I hadn’t acted quick enough? What if Ruby didn’t get to the top of the tower in time? What if something went wrong on that last mission we went on? What if I wasn’t fast enough to get to that Beowolf that had her pinned the time before that. What if…” He broke off with a sob. “This time it was what if her semblance backfired somehow when she--three years ago--and she f-fell from the top of the tower at Beacon? I saw her fall and I wasn’t fast enough to do anything about it.”

Yang’s arm curled around his shoulders, and he leaned into her. “I saw her hit the courtyard hard enough to break it up. We weren’t even close to the courtyard, but I--god  _ damn _ it! Yang, I  _ watched her die _ in my dream, and I couldn’t do anything. There was blood everywhere--on my hands, in her hair--and her hair didn’t even change color. And it was all my fault. I couldn’t save my own teammate.”

"Y'know," Yang said after several long, quiet moments only broken by Jaune’s hiccupping, slowing sobs. "I have nightmares where I can’t save my teammate too. All the time." She pulled her arm from around his shoulders and flexed her cybernetic hand.

Jaune looked up at her. "You do?" He swiped at his cheeks, brushing away tears that just kept coming.

"Sure I do," Yang replied. "Had one tonight. I... hear things Blake told me  _ he _ said. I keep remembering how I was too shocked that he  _ cut through my aura _ to cut off my arm to actually feel it. I have dreams where it hurts, though. I have dreams where I’m not fast enough, where I don’t get to the school from the docks in time, where I don’t find Blake soon enough… Dreams where he doesn’t just stab her, he kills her right in front of me--and worse."

Jaune eyed her carefully. Yang swallowed thickly.

" _ I'll destroy everything you love, starting with her _ ," she said, voice dark. "That's what he said before he..." She straightened out her metal fingers. "You know. And he stabbed Blake so I'd hear her shout and come running in the first place. He played us like a fiddle, and I fell for it. Ran in headfirst, and paid for it big time. I  _ lost  _ that battle."

"Yang, I--" Jaune started. Yang cut him off.

"I'd do it again in a heartbeat to save her, Jaune." Her eyes met his, red as hot coals before cooling to a warm lavender. "But that doesn't keep the nightmares away." She ripped up a handful of grass and, blade by blade, put it on his leg. "So, what I'm trying to say is... I get it. Nightmares suck Goliath ballsack. This shit happened three years ago and we’re still dreaming about it among other things, and we’re probably gonna  _ keep _ dreaming about it for who knows how long."

Jaune chuckled weakly. “At least we’re surrounded by other, nightmare having people who were part of that battle too.”

Yang clapped his shoulder. “That’s the spirit,” she said, smiling wryly. “And--think of it this way, ‘cuz I sure do--at least she’s still alive.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just for clarification: NOBODY IS DYING. i know the last line of this godforsaken chapter makes it sound that way, but NOBODY IS DYING. that's just a falsely ominous misfortune.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Breakfast with Ren. Jaune burns his mouth on hot chocolate and doesn't want to talk about his nightmares anymore.

The next time Jaune woke, the sun was high in the sky and he was alone. He stretched out in the bed and sighed. His sleep after talking with Yang had been more restful and nightmare-free, thankfully. But he felt no better.

Maybe if, as the day went on, he did other things he would feel better.

That started with getting out of bed.

Jaune peeled the blankets off himself, pushed himself to sitting, and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. The hardwood was cool on the bottoms of his feet, but not cold enough to warrant digging socks out of his bag yet.

When he pulled open the bedroom door, the smell of food cooking hit him full force. Jaune followed his nose to the biggest kitchen he’d ever seen.

Ren stood at the stove, platter of bacon at his elbow. “Good morning,” he said, once he spotted Jaune in the doorway.

“Nice of you to join us, Sunshine!” Dot crowed from her place at the marble topped breakfast bar, steaming mug of coffee clutched in her hands. Jaune half waved at her and hesitated in the doorway.

“You can come in.” Ren’s invitation made Jaune jump a bit. It wasn’t often that the rest of team JNPR was allowed in the area while Ren cooked--not even Nora. When they were allowed, it was because Ren deemed it important enough that they needed to share the space with him.

“You want some coffee?” Dot motioned to the full pot on the breakfast bar. “Mugs are in the cabinet to the left of your friend.”

“Is there hot chocolate?” Jaune asked, reaching around Ren to open the cabinet. Ren ducked under Jaune’s arm and picked up a slice of bacon from the platter, and dropped it on an expensive looking grilltop. Jaune could almost  _ feel _ the excitement at such fancy cookware radiating off of his teammate.

“Right there, sweetie.” Dot pointed at the basket next to the coffee maker. “The coffee machine also steams milk if you want it.”

“Thank you.” Jaune drifted to the coffee maker, yellow and white mug in his hand, and started to fuss with the coffee machine to prepare hot chocolate. “Where are the others?”

“Yang and Pyrrha are sparring outside,” Ren said. “Professor Port is refereeing. Nora is still asleep.”

“Do you want me to go wake her up?” Jaune asked, hesitating halfway through tearing open the powder packet. Ren shook his head.

“Let her sleep,” he replied, flipping the bacon on the grill. “We all had nightmares last night.”

Jaune went stiff. “Wh-what do you mean?” he asked, voice thin. Ren pulled the bacon off the fancy stove, set it on a new plate, and turned away from it. He stepped across the kitchen and gently freed the powder packet from Jaune’s white-knuckle grip, then pulled his teammate into a tight hug.

“Nora opened the window for fresh air after her nightmare. We heard you talking to Yang.” He rubbed a hand up and down Jaune’s back. Jaune’s eyes filled with tears. “It’s okay,” Ren said. “We’ve got you. We get it. Next time you can come to us if you want to.”

Jaune’s arms came around Ren and he gripped at the back of his pajama shirt. He melted into Ren’s hug, burying his face against his shoulder. Dot’s mug clinked against the marble of the countertop, and she murmured something about needing a smoke before leaving the room entirely.

Moments later, Jaune straightened up and wiped at his eyes. “Do you bring that apron everywhere?” he joked, voice wavering, and motioned to the  _ do nothing to the cook _ apron tied around Ren’s middle.

Ren narrowed his eyes. “Not  _ everywhere _ ,” he said, scowling. “Just places we have guaranteed shelter.” A hint of a smile showed through the scowl and twinkled in his eyes.

Jaune would treasure something as simple as the hug he got from Ren for a lifetime, he figured. Ren was not a touchy person. Ren did not like to be touched unless Ren started the touching, and that rarely happened, if ever. The singular hug would probably be the extent that Ren touched him when it was avoidable, and it meant as much to him as his and Yang’s entire conversation the night before.

“So, um,” he said instead. “Pancakes?”

Ren nodded. “Yep,” he said, turning back to the stove. “There are chocolate chips here, too. So they’re going to be special.” He pointed at a tin on the counter.

“Neat!” Jaune said, picking the packet of hot chocolate back up and finishing making his drink. He walked around the breakfast bar and slid into the seat next to the one Dot had been sitting in and curled his hands around the mug.

Ren didn’t talk as he cooked, and Jaune enjoyed the sound of bacon sizzling and Ren pattering about the kitchen as he mixed up pancake batter. He gazed out the breakfast nook bay window into the large backyard. Quatrefoil sat on the porch, and beyond the cat was Professor Port. Beyond him were Yang and Pyrrha, finishing up their sparring match.

No wonder he hadn’t heard any gunshots--Yang wasn’t wearing Ember Celica, and Miló and Akoúo were propped on the porch’s railing. They weren’t using using weapons. His attention snapped back when Ren hissed out a, “shit, ow,” and shook his hand out, and then drifted to the window again.

Professor Port walked by the window and headed around the house for the door behind him and Ren. Yang paused to pet Quatrefoil as she climbed the stairs to the porch, and so did Pyrrha. Jaune lifted his mug to blow across the top and watched her hair slide over her shoulder as she bent to scratch under Quatrefoil’s chin.

Yang cracked a joke, and Pyrrha laughed with her entire body. The sound drifted through the window and warmed Jaune from the inside out more thoroughly than the hot chocolate he sipped at.

Port walked through the kitchen, bade him and Ren good morning, and vanished through the door Jaune had originally entered the kitchen through. Yang did the same, pausing only long enough to send a cheesy wink Jaune’s way. He stuck his tongue out at her and lifted his mug back to his mouth.

And promptly swallowed a large mouthful instead of the sip he intended.

Pyrrha was still giggling to herself at Yang’s joke. Her bangs stuck up at odd angles where she’d pushed them off her sweaty forehead. Her smile was bright and for once not hidden demurely behind her hand. She seemed to glow in the morning sunlight streaming in through the window.

“Ow, ow, hot--” Jaune gasped, moments later, clutching at his throat with one hand. “Too hot, ow…”

Pyrrha paused by the breakfast bar, eyebrows creased together in concern. “Are you okay?” she asked, half reaching out and hesitating at the last second.

Jaune wheezed and nodded. “Yep,” he rasped. “Was bea--um. Was. Drink was hotter than I expected.” Pyrrha gave him one last concerned look, and then slipped out of the kitchen. “ _ Ren _ ,” Jaune whined.

Ren dolloped pancake batter onto the grilltop. “Yes?”

“She’s so  _ beautiful _ . I mean.  _ What _ !?” Jaune slid his mug across the breakfast bar to lay his head on the countertop. “When did she get beautiful!? Has she  _ always _ been this beautiful and I’ve been  _ blind _ ?”

“Do you want my honest answer or my sympathetic answer?” Ren replied, not turning from the stove

“Sympathetic, please,” Jaune said, folding his arms over his head.

“She is rather beautiful from a purely aesthetic standpoint.” Ren dropped chocolate chips onto the first pancake and flipped it. “Are you  _ sure _ you don’t want the honest answer?”

Jaune sighed. “Okay, hit me.”

“You’ve been blind as a bat, Jaune, and thicker than drying concrete.” Ren flipped the other pancake. Jaune let out one long groan. “Sit up,” Ren instructed a moment later, much closer.

Jaune sat up, and Ren sat a plate in front of him. A smiley face pancake stared up at him from the willow-patterned plate. Jaune squinted at Ren. “You had a rough night last night. This usually cheers up Nora, so I thought…” Ren touched his bangs, rubbed the side of his nose. Didn’t make eye contact.

“Thank you!” Jaune said, voice bright.

Ren flushed pink. “Eat it fast before Nora wakes up and gets upset she doesn’t get first pancake.” He dropped silverware next to the plate, and then swatted at Jaune’s head when he snickered.

\---

Jaune laid on his and Pyrrha’s shared bed, staring at the ceiling.

The bed dipped, and Pyrrha sat next to him. “Are you okay?” she asked.

“Why does everyone keep asking me that? Is it the nightmares again?” Jaune asked, throwing an arm across his eyes so he wouldn’t have to look at her if she wanted to talk about them--especially considering she was the star of most of them.

Jaune could  _ hear _ the tilt to her head in her voice. “Nightmares? Again?” she parroted.

“Nevermind,” he sighed. “Yeah, I’m okay. Why are you asking?” Pyrrha reached across the bed, leaning over him, and tapped at the material over his collarbone.

“Your binder isn’t this dark grey,” she said.

“My ribs hurt all day yesterday,” Jaune replied. Pyrrha made a confused noise. “I slept in my binder the night before last--when we were coming here. I’m not supposed to do that. But. Port doesn’t  _ know _ . So I didn’t take it off.”

“Ah.” The bed shifted, and Jaune imagined Pyrrha moving further in from the edge and pulling her knees to her chest. “You know Professor Port won’t mind, right?”

“You say that but you can’t be sure about these things. Just because you and Ren and Nora and Yang and Ruby were fine with… me, doesn’t mean everyone will be. I can’t tell anyone else.” Jaune adjusted the collar of his t-shirt to cover the strap of his sports bra.

Pyrrha laid down next to him. “Do you want to tell me about the nightmares you mentioned?”

“I’d rather not.”  _ I’d rather not tell you I watched you die. _

“All right.” She rested her head against his shoulder, and he dropped his arm from over his eyes to around her shoulders.

“You and Yang sparred this morning, huh?” he said after a few moments of quiet. She draped her arm over his middle and nodded.

“It was a lot of fun,” she told him. “Yang has a lot of energy, even first thing in the morning.” Jaune hummed agreement. “She’s a good fighter. I admire her.”

“I think we all do. She’s a good sister, too.” Jaune curled the end of a lock of Pyrrha’s hair around one finger, and then let the strands slide away. Pyrrha’s arm tightened around his middle. Jaune glanced down at her and his heart leapt into his throat to see her looking up at him, eyes soft and warm and full of something he couldn’t name.

Her breathing hitched when their eyes locked. “Jaune,” she whispered. “May I kiss you?”

Jaune nodded, and leaned to meet her halfway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the second chapter i've ended with arkos kissing and honestly i don't think i mind.  
> (also yes, jaune flubbed and almost said his hot chocolate was beautiful. or was it his hot chocolate he was talking about? :3c) (spoiler: it wasn't his hot chocolate he almost called beautiful it was pyrrha)
> 
> anyways [find me on tumblr](http://autisticjaunearc.tumblr.com)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lunch with a neighbor.

Lunch time had them reconvening in the dining room just off the spacious living room. Printed copies of the Scroll conversations between Ozpin and Dot littered the table, along with as much information on the Hunter currently in charge of Latet as could be found on the internet and gathered from townmembers the day before.

Port held a pen in one hand a mug of coffee in the other. He tapped the pen against his cheek.

“The information from the ‘net contradicts everything everyone we talked to told us,” Port said, circling one thing and connecting it to another.

“This is gonna get us _nowhere_ ,” Nora whined, draping herself across the tabletop. “We need to just bust into town hall and _take him_.”

“If you want Grimm to overrun Latet, sure,” Ren replied, reaching over to pat Nora’s back when her forehead met the table.

“That’s why we bust in _quietly_ ,” Nora amended, turning her head against the wood. “That way nobody knows until this jerkface is gone!”

“I don’t think that would be much better,” Pyrrha said. She pulled one of the papers closer to her and glanced over it. “How would we get out with him without people noticing?” she asked.

Nora sat up. “We sneak in at night!” She pounded her fist into her palm.

“The security system he implemented last spring doesn’t seem like it’d be conducive to that,” Pyrrha replied, squinting at another page.

“There’s got to be holes in the security, somewhere, right?” Nora prodded, reaching across the table to take the page from Pyrrha. “We should look into that.” She glanced over the page, and then handed it back. “I don’t understand _any of this_.”

“Neither do I,” Jaune piped up, and shuffled around the pages he was looking at.

“You have them in the wrong order, Jaune.” Pyrrha leaned over and rearranged the papers in front of him. “This should make more sense.”

“Oh.” Jaune flipped through the pages. “It does. Thanks, P.” He jotted something down in the spiral-bound notebook next to him.

A knock at the front door--and it was clearly the front door, because no other door in the house had that particular sounding brass knocker on it--had them scrambling to put the pages away. Dot lifted herself from her chair and strode through the living room to pull the door open. Jaune and Nora followed, poking their heads around the door frame.

Ren met Pyrrha’s eyes and tapped his left ring finger with his right index finger, and Pyrrha pulled the engagement ring out of her pocket and slid it on.

“Dot, my dear, I heard from the grapevine you have new faces in your sister’s house while she’s away? I came over to meet them!” a new voice called. Jaune motioned behind him for his other teammates to come see, and Pyrrha and Ren tiptoed in.

The man in the doorway was tall, frail looking, and white-haired. His sweater, cabled and almost as white as his hair, looked too heavy for the late spring-early summer heat, and when Jaune glanced over his shoulder to assess his teammates reaction, Ren’s face was pinched into an expression of _examination_ and made him seem a little too on edge.

“It’s just my friend Pete and his kids--my godkids. My oldest goddaughter’s gettin’ married and they wanted to come visit. Check the place out for doing the marrying,” Dot said, motioning widely. “They brought the whole crew. It’s too bad my sister isn’t here, isn’t it?” She stepped aside to let the man in the house.

“Oh, yes,” the man said. “Too terrible.” Jaune glanced over his shoulder again. Ren’s eyes had narrowed. Ren met his gaze, and then lowered himself from his tiptoes, turned away, and padded back into the dining room. “What a visit for Coral and Lane to have to miss while they are out gallivanting through the countryside. Doing whatever it is they do.” The man rubbed his hands together. A door slammed deeper in the house--Ren was in the kitchen now.

The man noticed the three of them in the doorway. “This must be them!” he said, spreading his arms wide. “You can call me Mr. Lis. I live up the street.”

“Well, Mr. Lis, why don’t you stay for lunch and meet them all proper?” Dot said, swinging the door shut.

“That sounds fabulous,” Mr. Lis replied.

The five of them returned to the dining room, but Jaune followed Ren further into the house and shut the door to the kitchen behind him quietly instead of letting it slam like Ren had. Ren was standing at the counter, quietly beginning to butter bread for grilled sandwiches.

“Are… you okay?” Jaune asked, keeping a careful distance but still standing close enough to show he was genuinely concerned.

Ren cut his eyes to Jaune and away again. “I suppose.” His tone was clipped, not quite cool. “Yes?” Ren hesitated, put the knife down on the butter container, braced his hands against the lip of the counter. “I’m not sure I like him, Jaune.”

“Why not?” Jaune pressed, careful not to say _he_ thought the guy was fine. He didn’t want Ren to be wary of him for brushing off his concerns so easily.

“Everything he said sounded like he was reciting lines for a play to me,” Ren admitted. “It was… too rehearsed.”

“Maybe he just got nervous, like you do?” Jaune suggested, shrugging one shoulder.

Ren seemed to close off. “Sure… I guess. I’d like to make lunch now.” That was as clear a dismissal of Jaune’s presence as any and just as clearly Ren telling Jaune _get out of the kitchen_ without actually saying it.

“Mr. Lis is staying with us for lunch, so make extra,” Jaune instructed gently, stepping away to give Ren his space. Ren gave no indication that he’d heard him and instead returned to buttering bread.

\---

Lunch was a cheerful, if awkward, affair.

Mr. Lis asked many questions about the wedding Pyrrha and Jaune didn’t have answers for, and then turned to grilling them about their relationships. He grilled the two of them the longest, and then turned his attention to Ren and Nora.

Nora dropped her hand over Ren’s, and made to lace their fingers together, but Ren pulled his hand away. “Not while I’m eating,” he reprimanded gently. “I like to have both of my hands, hun.”

“Right!” Nora chirped. “I forget sometimes, sorry, Ren.” She touched his arm instead, and he twisted away from that too under the guise of reaching for his glass of water. Nora’s eyebrows furrowed.

“How long have you two been together?” Mr. Lis asked.

Jaune could see the expressions flitting over Nora’s face, including her desire to say that the two of them weren’t _together_ -together, and watched Ren’s non-reaction as he answered instead. “Officially a little over a year,” he said. “It was back and forth for a while, but we worked it out.”

“What about you, then, dear?” Mr. Lis turned to Yang. Her smile seemed suddenly much more forced, and she pushed her plate away instead of continuing to pick at the leftover sandwich as she leaned back in her chair. “Do you have someone special?”

“Please don’t call me that,” she said tersely, fidgeting with the sunglasses next to her plate. “And I don’t think I want to talk about my relationship status to someone I only just met.”

The way Mr. Lis watched her sunglasses and then raised his eyebrow had a sinking feeling grow in Jaune’s stomach--maybe Ren was right about him. Maybe there was something else.

It didn’t take long after lunch was over for Mr. Lis to leave. He stood in the doorway and called out, “Thank you for lunch, Dotty dear,” and then slammed the door behind him.

“So _fuck that guy_ ,” tumbled out of Yang’s mouth the second the house was quiet again and they were recovering from his sudden presence. “He gave me the heebie jeebies.” She shuddered and folded her arms over her chest.

“Did everything he said sound rehearsed to you, too?” Ren jumped on the opportunity. “Because it did to me.”

“Not really,” Yang replied, carefully considering. “I mean, now that I think about it he did sound kinda stiff.”

Ren shot all of them meaningful looks, one after the other. “I think we should keep an eye on him.” Yang nodded in agreement and folded her arms over her chest.

“Add that bullet point to the memo, then.” Port slid the spiral-bound notebook Jaune had been writing in before lunch over the polished wood of the table.

Ren penned it onto the list already halfway down the page, handwriting swirling across the page in opposition to Jaune’s hasty chicken scratching.

_Keep an eye out for Mr. Lis._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... this one's a little shorter--but fear not. We're actually hitting the plot instead of just fluff. Kinda.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren and Nora gossip. Exploring Latet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaah, sorry about the long wait on this chapter!! i got a job like... right after the last time this updated so I've been busy working! but here it is!

“Why did you say a little over a year?” Nora hissed, nudging Ren into the hallway and out of the kitchen. Nowhere to hide.

“I panicked,” he snapped, drawing his ponytail over his shoulder and winding his fingers into it.

“We agreed on several years--like, four or five--did you forget?” she asked, putting her hands on her hips. Ren’s sudden flush was splotchy, cheekbones to forehead. “You forgot!”

“I _panicked_ ,” Ren reiterated, pulling his fingers sharply through his ponytail and then spreading his hands in front of himself. “I didn’t… we haven’t _needed_ a backstory more complex than that until Mr. Lis showed up today.” He avoided Nora’s gaze; looked at the painting on the wall behind her, and then elsewhere.

“He really had you out of it, didn’t he?” Nora softened as Ren nodded.

“I just… I don’t… like him. He makes me wary,” he said. “Other than how he spoke I can’t put my finger on why, though.”

It was Nora’s turn to nod. “And we didn’t listen to you, did we.” Her shoulders fell a bit.

“Not at first. Before lunch Jaune suggested maybe he just gets nervous like I do, but he didn’t _seem_ nervous to me.” Ren stared at the floor, fingers twisting into his ponytail again. Nora didn’t touch him, even though everything about her posture said she wanted to hug him, and he was grateful. “At least we stayed in character when we had lunch with him, right?” He lifted his eyes from the floor and finally met hers.

“Yeah, we did!” Nora giggled. “And, and did you see Jaune and Pyrrha? Were they in character or was that how _dense_ Jaune’s been finally clearing up?”

Ren grinned. “I couldn’t tell. Did I tell you he called her beautiful before you woke up for breakfast?”

“No!” Nora squealed. She punched his shoulder. “ _Spill it,_ Lie.”

He happily recounted the events of breakfast for her--conveniently leaving out that he’d given Jaune the first pancake before she’d even come into the kitchen--and Nora covered her mouth with both hands to hold in louder giggling. Any disagreement they’d had not forgotten, but forgiven.

\---

Pyrrha pushed open the door to their room and started digging through her bag. She was going to shower before they went into town, since she hadn’t gotten a chance to before breakfast.... or after, or before lunch.

She’d gotten distracted when Jaune inhaled his hot chocolate and had worried about whether he was actually okay or not (even though he said he was) and how red he kept turning the few times they’d made eye contact, and then distracted by how down he seemed afterwards.

Figuring out an actual plan and Mr. Lis coming over had thrown everything off. At least Jaune had stopped turning red whenever he looked at her when Mr. Lis started asking about their relationship.

Clothing gathered and towel in hand, Pyrrha padded to the en-suite bathroom. Her hand hesitated on the doorknob--the shower was already running. How had she not heard it before? She paused. Listened closer.

Jaune’s voice floated through the door, singing along to the Anxiety! At the Academy album that’d come out a few months ago. She couldn’t help a soft smile.

His voice was not particularly well trained, nor did it sound like he was quite used to how deep it was yet; but it was still pleasing to listen to--until his voice cracked, and went squeaky as he tried to sing in a falsetto he didn’t have anymore.

Pyrrha winced, and then began to feel like she was listening to something she shouldn’t. She stepped away from the door and dropped her things onto the bed next to the shirt Jaune had been wearing earlier, then pulled her hair out of its ponytail.

The shower stopped but the music continued, and so did Jaune’s singing.

The door swung open. Pyrrha looked up automatically--and froze, face heating. Jaune was standing in the doorway, eyes wide. Water dripped from his hair and slid over the curves of his shoulders. Pyrrha followed the path of one droplet with her eyes.

His face was reddening rapidly, and the red was already spreading down his neck and over his collarbones. “Um…” Jaune started. “Forgot my shirt and my… my sports bra. Out here.” He motioned, moving to clutch his towel to his chest, and Pyrrha’s eyes were drawn to the movement.

“Sorry! Sorry, Jaune, sorry!” she squeaked, suddenly realizing what she was staring at. She clapped her hands over her eyes and turned away for good measure. “I didn’t mean to stare at you,” she whispered. _He blushes even on his chest_ ! She thought to herself. _I feel like I shouldn’t know that_. “Sorry!” she said again.

“Hey, no worries,” Jaune replied, moments later. “I have my shirt on now.” She glanced over her shoulder at him, cheeks still hot. “I didn’t know you were out here. I would have, uh, covered myself better, I guess.” The red in his face was fading.

“No, no, this is on me!” Pyrrha insisted. “I really didn’t mean to stare at y-your pecs!” Jaune’s face flamed red again, and he bit his lip. “So when are we going out? To look at the town more closely, I mean. I think Yang and Professor Port said we should investigate for good lookouts.”

“Soon, I think?” Jaune replied, shrugging. “Did you want to shower before we went?”

Pyrrha nodded and darted into the bathroom.

\---

The residential area of Latet was quaint and quiet.

As they left Coral and Lane’s property, Pyrrha took Jaune’s hand and laced their fingers. Jaune’s ears went red.

“That’s a good idea,” Nora whispered, nudging Ren’s arm.

“What is?” Ren replied, leaning in close.

“Affection!” Nora grabbed Ren’s wrist and dragged his arm around her shoulders, then slid her arm around his middle. “We haven’t been affectionate enough.”

“Sure we have,” Ren protested mildly. “I’m not touchy-feely. You know this.”

“ _I_ do,” Nora said. “But Latet doesn’t know this.” She rubbed at his back. At least Ren could

“Fair point,” Ren conceded on a sigh. Nora leaned into his side, and then twisted their fingers together with a happy noise.

“Gross,” Yang joked, reaching out to nudge Jaune’s arm.

“Yeah,” Ren said, “Gross.” Jaune stuck his tongue out.

“So... What were we going into town for again?” Yang asked next, jamming her hands into her hoodie pockets. It was a ploy and a pointless question, they knew, because it had been Yang’s idea to go out in the first place.

“Wasn’t it to look for a venue?” Pyrrha replied, pushing her hair over her shoulder. It was still damp and pulled into a loose braid that trailed down her back.

“Yeah, that was it,” Jaune said. He glanced around. “Didn’t we want outdoor, P?” They had to figure out a code, he thought. So that they could talk about what they needed to talk about and nobody would be the wiser.

“Outdoor would be nice, especially in the mountains like this,” she agreed, nodding. Jaune smiled at her, soft and sunny.

“Yuck!” Yang exclaimed, turning away and miming gagging. “You two are _so_ sappy!”

“Then why’d you come if you don’t like watching us be schmoopy?” Jaune challenged, leaning up to smack a kiss on Pyrrha’s cheek. Pyrrha turned pink.

“And miss out on helping my baby brother plan his wedding?” Yang retorted. Her tone was cheerful, but her gaze was calculating and swept back and forth across the path behind her sunglasses. “No way! Also, _schmoopy_? Come on, you sound eighty years old.”

Nora and Ren conversed quietly between each other, foreheads nearly touching.

“And these two aren’t even trying not to be mushy,” Yang commented, gesturing with her left hand.

Ren flipped her off, keeping his hand slightly hidden and close to his side.

“Wow. _Wow_ . Do you see this?” Yang gestured again, wilder. “ _So_ rude!” An older couple sitting on their front porch paused their conversation to glare at the group, and Yang stuck her hand back in her hoodie pocket with a frown at them.

Their short walk out of the residential area of Latet was spent quiet, Yang on the lookout and Ren and Nora still absorbed in their own conversation, and Pyrrha enjoying the trees and neatly trimmed yards. Jaune couldn’t keep his eyes off of Pyrrha.

\---

“Second and Charles?” Yang said suddenly, slowing to a stop. “Oh, that’s a bookstore!” She scrubbed her hand through her hair, not quite bashful, and turned to the others. “I’m gonna check it out. Maybe they’ll have something Blake would like…” She broke off from the other four, pulling out her Scroll and reaching for the door of the shop. “I’ll catch up with you guys later!”

Jaune blinked after her, then looked at the others. Ren shrugged and shook his head, and then the group moved on.

“Marble Road Boutique, Nilla’s Hair Creations, Four Leaf Luck Coffee,” Nora read out the names of shops as they passed. “They’re all so pretentious,” she whined, stopping in place.

“We’re in a town of rich people,” Ren reminded her. “What do you expect?” Nora shrugged, and Ren tugged her on.

“Gold Crown Arrangements… Hey, Pyrrha, do we have flowers yet?” she called, moments later. Pyrrha shook her head. “Ren, let’s see if they’ll do it.” She pulled him to the door, which chimed pleasantly as she threw it open.

“I guess it’s just us now,” Pyrrha chirped, giving Jaune’s hand a squeeze. “Want to keep walking?”

Jaune nodded and they began again, their pace more leisurely this time. Wildflowers sprung up in sparse patches of grass dispersed around the town square and grew in frequency as they drew nearer to it.

A building that could only be the town hall loomed at the head of the town square--there were hastily boarded holes in the roof, shattered and boarded up windows, and the lawn was choked with weeds and overgrown grass. It rose like a tall stain, the only mar on a town as beautiful as they’d experienced this one to be so far.

It was a mess. A run-down mess that looked that it hadn’t even been looked at in years. Jaune and Pyrrha exchanged glances, and Pyrrha pulled out her Scroll. She snapped a few pictures of the building and sent them off, then flipped the camera to front-view and pulled Jaune in close to take a few pictures of the two of them to ward off any imagined or potential suspicion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please let me know if anything seems weird grammar or pacing-wise...


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Investigating. Lots of dust. Creepy basement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter sits at 2300 words. It is the longest chapter of this fic and will probably stay the longest chapter. I just couldn't bear to cut it up.

“Should the town hall even look like that?” Jaune asked, gesturing at the pictures projected side-by-side on the wall. One picture from Port’s Scroll--the town hall kept up and neat--and the other from Pyrrha’s--the town hall run down and ragged.

“No,” Port replied. “Absolutely not. It should look like the picture we were given at the start.” He pointed to the one being projected from his Scroll, then rubbed at his mustache and made a thoughtful noise.

“Wasn’t there a security system installed last spring, though?” Pyrrha asked, fidgeting with her Scroll. The new picture of the town hall jittered, and then stilled as Pyrrha realized what she was doing and stopped with a small squeak. “What does this mean?” she continued a moment later.

“It means we need to forge ahead and move our plans up to tonight.” Port leaned onto the table, hands smoothing down the floor plans of the town hall. “We can’t waste any time.”

“What plans!?” Yang interjected, voice sharp. “We don’t _have_ any plans.We thought we’d have longer than two days in Latet before we had to do much more than stake out.” She didn’t look up from cleaning Ember Celica.

“We do what Nora suggested before lunch. We sneak in. There,” Ren said. “A plan.” He leaned back in his chair, fingers twisted into his ponytail again. Yang looked up this time, one eyebrow raised in equal parts disbelief and annoyance.

“This could also be considered part of the stake out. An investigative report, if you will,” Port added, smoothing out a dog-eared corner of the paper and tapping the screen of his Scroll to make sure the picture didn’t disappear.

“So we start planning more thoroughly right now.” Ren disengaged his hands from his ponytail and rested his arms against the table. “Especially if we’re doing this tonight. We don’t have much time.”

Nora, who had been unusually and contemplatively quiet, finally spoke up. “Do we have a map of the security system? We should figure out where the gaps in it are so we can get in.”

Ren leaned over and slid a page out from under Port’s arm and examined it. “This might be it,” he said, stretching across the table to hand it to Nora.

“Good idea,” Pyrrha said, leaning over to look at it as well.

\---

It was an oddly comforting feeling to have Crocea Mors in hand and his armor strapped to his chest and shoulders again, and Jaune could be sure it was the same for the others.

Walking through Latet in the dead of night was much more sinister than it was during the day, however, and that made Jaune clutch his sword tighter to him and crouch just the smallest bit more into a defensive stance as he went. It didn’t go unnoticed.

“You okay?” Pyrrha whispered.

“Yeah,” he replied. “Just. Wary. This place is a lot spookier at night.”  The chains on Pyrrha’s circlet jingled softly as she nodded.

The grass swished around their legs and twigs and leaves crunched under their feet as they pushed through the yard of the town hall to the back of the building. It was almost deafening compared to the quiet of the rest of the town.

“Which tree are we climbing again?” Jaune asked, sheathing his sword and slowing to a stop. There was one in front of the building, and three in the back, and they all stretched tall, tall, tall above him.

“This one,” Yang said, taking her sunglasses off and hooking them into the front of her jacket, then heading for the tree closest to the back wall. “The branches stretch over the roof, so if we climb up this one and drop from one of the branches we’ll land right on it.”

“...Right,” Jaune replied, stepping over to touch the trunk. “This one.” The bark was rough under his fingertips. Pyrrha’s hand lighted on his shoulder, gentle and reassuring, and the touch took away his nerves. He’d climbed trees as a kid, he could do it again. No big deal. This time he wouldn’t even have to worry about the skirt of a pastel church dress or his mother yelling at him to get down in East Atlesian accented Valean.

“Jaune, you go first.” Yang knelt and laced her fingers together, palms up. “I’ll boost you up, that first branch is kinda tall.”

“Are you calling me short--and why do _I_ go first?” Jaune scowled.

“No, and you’re lightest. Next is Ren, then Nora, then me, and then Pyrrha,” Yang replied, motioning with her laced hands.

“Fine,” Jaune grouched. He pushed himself up onto the toes of one foot and set his other in Yang’s hands. She shoved upwards and he jumped, grabbing for the branch. “Wait--how will you and Pyrrha get up?” he asked, feet braced against the trunk and arms wrapped around the branch.

“We’ll manage, just go!” Yang hissed, waving him away.

Jaune turned his attention back to climbing the tree, shoes scraping against the bark, and then shimmying across the branch over the roof. When he dropped down onto the flat part of the roof the branch extended over and looked out across the town, his heart ached. The stars spread through the sky like glitter and the shattered moon set an ethereal glow over the buildings that was broken up by the too-warm light of the occasional street lamp below.

Behind him, the roof creaked, and Ren and Nora joined him, then Yang and Pyrrha did. Nora leaned against his arm, and then Pyrrha dropped her cheek against Jaune’s hair. Yang’s hand touched his back, and then Ren’s did too. “What a night, huh?” Jaune whispered. “Too bad we’re messing it up by breaking into the town hall. How do we get in?”

Ren’s hand drew away, and the roof creaked again as he walked around. “I’ll start looki--”

And then he dropped with a crash and a shout.

The four left rushed over and leaned to look into the hole. Dust was settling on and around Ren and in his hair as he laid in a pile of rotted boards and plaster on top of a very broken desk. “Are you okay, Ren?” Nora called, cupping a hand around her mouth.

“Yeah.” Ren groaned. “Probably.”

“Should we pull him out?” Pyrrha asked, and then stopped, finger to her chin in thought. “No.”

“Thanks, Pyrrha,” Ren said, voice flat. Jaune looked up at Pyrrha, who met his eyes in the dim light of the moon. She grinned, and then he did too.

“No, no, Ren, listen--I know what she’s thinking. I think we found our way in. If we toss a branch in when we come out, nobody will ever know it was us,” Jaune explained. “So get out of the way and let us jump down.”

Ren pushed himself up with a quiet “ow,” that still carried out of the room and limped further into the room. “Come on, guys.”

Yang jumped down first. “It’s so dusty in here,” she said, kicking at the carpet. Jaune and Nora followed Yang down, and then Pyrrha did. Jaune pushed open the door and looked out into the hallway, pulling his flashlight from his belt and clicking it on.

The beam of light swept over thick layers of dust on bookshelves and side tables, and cobwebs in the corners. “Wow,” he said, half to himself.

“Right?” Nora poked her head underneath his arm, and then slipped around him into the hallway. She left footsteps in the dust.

“We’re going to have to be careful with this,” Pyrrha said, ducking under Jaune’s arm and following Nora out. “If anyone finds these...” She gestured to the footsteps in the dust. Jaune trailed after Pyrrha. Yang and Ren limped behind them, and when Jaune glanced back, he saw Ren’s arm around Yang’s shoulders and Ren hesitating to put weight on his left leg.

Roof tiles dropped into the hole behind them, and Jaune went stiff for a moment before relaxing.

As she and Ren passed them, Yang tried doorknobs. Each door swung open with a gentle push. “Why are you doing that?” Jaune heard Ren ask as they descended to the first floor of the building.

“If we find a locked door, we find a problem,” Yang replied, pushing open a door on the landing.

“Ah,” Ren said. “Good plan.” He reached out to a door at the bottom of the stairs and jiggled the knob. “This one’s locked.”

Jaune stopped, and Pyrrha stopped Nora and pulled her back. “Pyrrha, can you...” He shined his flashlight at the door and hoped she caught his intention.

“I can try,” Pyrrha said. She took a deep breath, held out one hand, and let her eyes slide closed.

The metal in the doorframe rattled, and then the door slammed open. “Thank you,” Jaune said, touching Pyrrha’s arm.

The door lead to another set of stairs that lead down into the belly of the building. Jaune drew Crocea Mors from its scabbard and handed his flashlight off to whoever was behind him, and then started slowly down the stairs.

Everything in the basement was neat and dust-free. A vase of flowers sat on a table between two holoscreens, and a third sat catty-corner to the two. Behind them was another door that was set in an oddly wide recess and looked newer than the rest of the building.

“I think we hit our jackpot,” Yang whispered. Jaune nodded and stepped in front of the holoscreens.

All three switched to a password-input screen and brought up a keyboard. Jaune stared at the keyboard of the first holoscreen and listened to the rest of his team shuffle around the basement. After a few long moments of deliberation, he hovered his fingers over the keyboard and typed very slowly, one letter at a time.

_L-A-T-E-T_

The screen clicked off and then flashed to life again, this time bringing up document after document. “Guys!” he called, digging through the pouch on his sword-belt and coming up with a small notebook with a pen stuck through the spiral. “Someone come copy down as much as you can. I’m gonna see if the password is the same on the other screens.”

Pyrrha took the notebook from him and started scribbling.

The password didn’t work on the other holoscreens. “Damn,” Jaune huffed. “Thought it would work.”

“Guy’s gotta be more clever than that if he took over a whole town and nobody even noticed anything different until Dot did,” Yang pointed out, coming around and pushing Jaune out of the way of the third keyboard.

“You have a point.” Jaune let himself be shuffled away, and turned to look for Ren and Nora. Ren was digging through a bookshelf in the recess by the door, which stood open. Nora had one hand on the doorframe and the other on Magnhild.

“Hey guys?” she said. “I think I know why we can’t find him.” From what Jaune could see, the other side of this door looked like a roughly-hewn dirt tunnel. Her voice echoed.

“This would explain the abandoned look upstairs,” Ren turned and looked down the tunnel and then at the rest of them.

“This _definitely_ explains why the upstairs door was the only locked one in the building,” Jaune agreed. “And it explains the security system--if they get in the front door they can get to here.” He put his hands on his hips and peered over Nora’s shoulder. “How far does it go?”

Nora opened her Scroll and pulled up a map of the town. “We’re about to find out,” she said, and disappeared into the tunnel. Jaune and Ren exchanged looks, and then watched as the blue-tinged light from Nora’s scroll faded into the distance as she rounded a bend.

Jaune wandered over to Pyrrha and peeked over at the notebook. He couldn’t understand Pyrrha’s shorthand, but trusted that she was getting down everything that she could. She glanced up at him with a smile as she flipped the page in the notebook over.

The smile faded at a rocking _boom_ and pink-tinged smoke floating out of the mouth of the tunnel. Nora came running out, smoke still drifting out of the head of Magnhild. “There was a Grimm in the tunnel!” she explained, breathless. “Tiny little guy. But. Magnhild might’ve been too loud. I probably alerted someone. Or let in more Grimm, I kinda knocked a hole in the wall. We gotta skedaddle!”

Nora grabbed Ren’s hand and tugged, and the five of them scrambled for the room they came in from.

Jaune yanked the scabbard from his belt and extended it into the shield. “Pyrrha,” he said, “Up! Let’s go!” and knelt.

Pyrrha stepped onto his shield and as she jumped, he shoved her up. She reached back in from the roof and they helped the other three out, and then Jaune jumped as high as he could and grabbed Pyrrha and Yang’s hands and the two pulled him up.

Before they scaled the tree down, Jaune pulled a higher branch down and Yang shot it off, and then tossed it into the hole Ren fell through.

\---

They packed themselves in around Coral and Lane’s breakfast bar once they got back. Quatrefoil sat in Ren’s lap, purring a rusty-sounding purr and licking at his fingers. “The tunnel lead all the way back across town,” Nora explained, projecting her map up onto the wall. A pale thumbtack stuck out on the street surrounded by several houses. “I marked where I was when I had to come back.”

She zoomed in on the map with two fingers and dropped another thumbtack. “I think the tunnel ended here, based on how my footsteps sounded.”

Dot leaned forward, squinted, and then leaned back, hands curled around her mug. “That’s Mr. Lis’ house,” she said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me [on tumblr!](http://autisticjaunearc.tumblr.com)


End file.
